K5 3” lift question

[Chevy 88]

no, not zero rates
some of us old timers that where building lifted trucks back in the '70's, '80's and '90's used to use what was called a traction lift. it was made by Trail Master.
was basiclly a block about 12-14" long and had bars that wrapped around the springs at the ends. they are safe to use on front axles, but people have shifted to other ways of lifting the front. very hard to find now-a-days, even online, but i have approx 15 000 Off Road, 4 Wheeler, 4x4, etc magazines from the 70's to the '90's, and i would bet at least a good third of them were running traction lifts

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Tell me more. Very interesting.

 

[nvrenuf]

@Rumbledawg I was playing with trucks during the early 80’s so I’m very familiar with the traction lift you posted as well as the style that used 3 or 4 pieces of flat leaf spring stock.

Since he stated “They make” in the present tense it seemed that he was talking about a product still in production, traction lifts were no longer made by the early-mid 90’s.

 

[bucket]

@Rumbledawg I was playing with trucks during the early 80’s so I’m very familiar with the traction lift you posted as well as the style that used 3 or 4 pieces of flat leaf spring stock.

Since he stated “They make” in the present tense it seemed that he was talking about a product still in production, traction lifts were no longer made by the early-mid 90’s.

Right. They stopped selling those things long before Amazon was a thing.

 

[EvilGenius]

no, not zero rates
some of us old timers that where building lifted trucks back in the '70's, '80's and '90's used to use what was called a traction lift. it was made by Trail Master.
was basiclly a block about 12-14" long and had bars that wrapped around the springs at the ends. they are safe to use on front axles, but people have shifted to other ways of lifting the front. very hard to find now-a-days, even online, but i have approx 15 000 Off Road, 4 Wheeler, 4x4, etc magazines from the 70's to the '90's, and i would bet at least a good third of them were running traction lifts

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

This is a thing!? I tore these of my truck years ago not long after buying it and thought they were a homemade lift. Looked super sketchy. Wow learned something new today.

 

[Blazerbiker]

Obviously, the sky's the limit. Kind of a premium 3" would be this K5:

You must be registered for see images attach

This has our custom springs all around with all new hangers and shackles, relocated 2" shocks, crossover steering and a rear 2 link traction bar setup. It's actually a fairly awesome K5 for a somewhat modest build. It rides and drives really good on basically any surface. It's not coilover kind of ride quality but it's really good.

The system someone posted in the first reply is solid but would ride a little stiffer and be quite a bit cheaper. A skyjacker 2.5" spring or the TCI 3" would be good ways to go on a budget. It's hard to beat a shackle flip in the back for good and reasonably cheap. No matter what we have all the misc. pieces it takes to really do this right like shackles and bushings and steering correction and brakelines and so on.

This actually reminds me a lot of my old '88 Suburban. Here's an old writeup on that thing. Hard to believe that was 20+ years ago but the same stuff still works.
https://www.offroaddesign.com/blog/...odTckIvcumBNv0LYEqYcQ5cxMUIs1PgWNXC2HnqA3Zs5b
I just noticed the formatting got messed up and the "stage 1" pic is actually from much later. Not surprising actually.

 

[K5Rob]

If i went with a 4” kit from tuff country would i need to change driveshafts / drop t case, anything else that may not have been disclosed to be able to drive it down the road

 

[Rumbledawg]

Tell me more. Very interesting.

not much to tell, i figure the pics would be pretty self explanatory

@Rumbledawg I was playing with trucks during the early 80’s so I’m very familiar with the traction lift you posted as well as the style that used 3 or 4 pieces of flat leaf spring stock.

Since he stated “They make” in the present tense it seemed that he was talking about a product still in production, traction lifts were no longer made by the early-mid 90’s.

not contradicting, just saying i think a traction lift was what he meant, and yeah, that's why i said there pretty much impossible to find a set now-a-days

Right. They stopped selling those things long before Amazon was a thing.

i don't think the interweb was even a thing back then....
one thing i find is back in the day, if you modded your truck, quite often you made parts yourself for a truck, as there was nothing available like today. now we have a vastly larger selection of stuff you can blow your money on, couple clicks and some cubic dollars and you can have pretty much anything you can think of made. i will say building a truck in the present time is a lot easier then the "dark days"

 

[ali_c20]

Do yourself a favour and get a lift spring kit with all parts and do it right. I run a 2" Tuff Country EZ ride lift on my K5. It's advertized as 2" but it's 3" when mounted. Ride quality is way better than with original springs.
My 0,02$

 

[K5Rob]

Do yourself a favour and get a lift spring kit with all parts and do it right. I run a 2" Tuff Country EZ ride lift on my K5. It's advertized as 2" but it's 3" when mounted. Ride quality is way better than with original springs.
My 0,02$

Thanks for the reply, i think that is what i am leaning towards right now. If im gonna spend the cash I think I’d like to go 4”. I wonder if that is higher than advertised as well.

Did you have any driveline issues with your 2” and should i expect any driveline issues with a 4”?

 

[bucket]

Thanks for the reply, i think that is what i am leaning towards right now. If im gonna spend the cash I think I’d like to go 4”. I wonder if that is higher than advertised as well.

Did you have any driveline issues with your 2” and should i expect any driveline issues with a 4”?

It will depend on how much the stock springs have settled, among other things.

Going with just a 2" lift will simplify a lot of things. No real worry about driveline angles or binding and then the big one... you just run a 33x12.5 tire and be done with it. But with a 4" lift, you are into the whole 33"/35" tire decision. It can be a complicated one too. Looks, uses, wheel size, engine/trans combo, gear ratio and willingness to trim the front fenders are all items that go into that decision.

 

[K5Rob]

Mainly just cruising around on the road. Hopefully summer only. I do have a daily i plan on using in the winter. Offroading is largely discouraged here. We have good atv/snowmobile trails that are always in jeopardy of being closed by landowners. I have both a sled and four wheeler and would like to keep the trails open. I have a ~ 31” tire now. The truck could definitely use a minimum 2” lift. Maybe 3” really is the way to go. I think tire size would still look fine. My main concern is driveline vibration. I do not want to have to deal with custom driveshafts

 

[SquareRoot]

If you don't mind driving all the way across the country, I know of a used 4" K5 lift that you could get for super cheap. Couple hundred bucks at most.

Gas at $3/gallon and 3000 miles? Ya, makes perfect sense.

 

[ali_c20]

Thanks for the reply, i think that is what i am leaning towards right now. If im gonna spend the cash I think I’d like to go 4”. I wonder if that is higher than advertised as well.

Did you have any driveline issues with your 2” and should i expect any driveline issues with a 4”?

No issues with the driveline or steering. I had to buy a correction system for the sway bar. Got a sway bar correction and disconnect system from Offroad Design. They have great stuff.

https://www.offroaddesign.com/swaybar-correction-and-disconnect-system-for-73-91-gm-trucks.html

With 4" steering, swaybar, driveshaft length and driveline geometry is effected.

 

[rich weyand]

Haven't seen anybody mention this possibility. I went with a Tuff Country 2" on the front and 3" on the rear of my K10. They'll set up that kit for you if that's what you want. It made the fender cutouts on the front and rear match in height, and it was a good look. Ride was MUCH better. No driveline changes required on a K10, not sure about with K5.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[ZIMM78Blazer]

I want to lift my 87 K5 3”. Can I just go with a 3” tapered steel block front and rear? Obviously would need longer u bolts and shocks as well. Where can I get extended shocks?

I was looking at rough country 4” lift which comes with spring packs. My spring packs are good. I also read reviews and found some saying it lifts the front by 6”. It also doesnt include hardware. That is a lot of money for an incomplete kit that you further have to mess with to make correct. 4-6” is more lift than i am looking for anyway. Any thoughts?

4 inch you should be ok with driveshafts, they are extended. My 78 had no issues with 4 wheeling in the mud just playing no heavy rock crawling. You will need to fix the steering linkage. Drop pittman arm or drag link. I would fix it even with a 2 or 3 inch to avoid binding. As mentioned ORD in Colorado or Davis off road in Virginia would be good sources for more details and answers to your ?